Floor rack



NOV- 6, 195l A. F. ocoNNcnRl FLOOR RACK Filed July 22, 1946 WIM..

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Patented ov. 6, 1951 FLOOR RACK Arthur F. OConnor, Chicago, Ill.,assignor to Union Asbestos & Rubber Company, a corporation of IllinoisApplication July 22, 1946, Serial N0. 685,426

4 Claims.

This invention relates to oor racks and more particularly to ladingsupporting racks for railway refrigerator cars and the like.

In railway refrigerator cars it has been customary to support the ladingon racks resting on thecar iloor and hinged to the sides of the car sothat they can be raised for cleaning the floor. When operating overrough tracks or at high speeds with cars of this type, the lading hasfrequently been damaged due to bouncing of the car. It is accordinglyone of the objects of the present invention to provide a floor rack foruse in railway refrigerator cars and the like in which damage to thelading during operation on rough tracks or at high speed is minimized oreliminated.

Another object is to provide a iloor rack which is vertically resilientto absorb vertical shocks incurred during operation.

Still another object is to provide a oor rack including stringerssupporting slat .means above a car iioor in'which stringers are soconstructed as to be vertically resilient. Preferably the stringers areformed by supporting blocks to which supporting strips are connected foryielding vertical movement.

Still another object is to provide a fioor rack which is verticallyresilient and which provides a snubbing action to minimize or eliminatebouncing of the lading.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will be morereadily apparent from the following description when read in connectionwith vthe accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a partial sectionthrough a portion of a railway car and a floor rack embodying theinvention;

Figure 2 is a partial plan view;

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a, view similar to Figure 1 of an alternative construction;and

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Figure 4.

As shown in Figure 1 the rack is mounted in a refrigerator car having aoor I Il and a side wall II supported by an elongated side beam I2. The.construction illustrated is a conventional refrigerator car structure,and it will be understood that the rack of the present invention mightbe applied to any desired type of car.

The floor rack comprises two or more parallel stringers each extendingthe full length of the rack and each of which includes a supportingblock I3 which may be formed of any desired ma- (Cl. 10S-375) terialsuch as wood and an inverted channelshaped supporting strip I4 whichfits slidably over the block I3. A bolt I5 secured to the sides of thestrip I4 extends through a vertically elongated slot I6 in the block sothat the strip can move vertically relative to the block through alimited distance. The rack is completed by cross slats Il which may bein the form of inverted metal channels preferably perforated to providefor air circulation which extend across and are secured to thesupporting strips I4 as by welding or the like. It will be understoodthat a plurality of substantially identical racks are provided to form acomplete lading supporting floor for the car.

In order that the lading may be yieldingly supported, spring means areprovided within the channel shaped supporting strips to urge thesupporting strips upward relative to the blocks I3. As shown in Figures1 and \3 the spring means may comprise one or more elongated sinuousspring strips I8 which engage the lower surface of the web of thechannel shaped supporting strips I4 and which rest on a metal Wear stripI9 on top of the block I3. To prevent shifting of the spring strips asthey elongate under load, each strip may be secured at one point to thewear strip I9 by a rivet 2B.

The construction is shown in Figures 1 and 3 in fully expanded positionwith the supporting strip I4 raised to its maximum elevation relative tothe block I3. When the rack is loaded, the spring I 8 will be deected topermit the supporting strip to move downward on the block. The spring I8may .be so designed as to permit the supporting strip I4 to move down sothat the edges of its flanges Will seat against the floor of the carunder normal load conditions or it may, as preferred, be of a strengthto hold the supporting strip yieldingly above the car floor. In eithercase the supporting strip and the slat structure I'I will move u-p anddown on the supporting blocks as the car encounters vertical bumps orother rough conditions yieldingly to absorb shocks so that they will notbe transmitted to the lading to damage the lading. Due to the frictionalengagement of the loops in the spring strip I8 with the supporting stripI4 and the wear strip I9, a snubbing action will be produced which willprevent development of harmonies in the spring to cause bounding of thelading. Thus with this construction the lading is yieldingly supportedso that it will not be damaged When operating on rough track or at highspeed.

The rack, as shown, may be pivotally connected to the car so that it canbe swung upward for cleaning the car floor in the same manner as aconventional rack. For this purpose hinge brackets 2| are secured to thesupporting strips I4 which lie adjacent one edge of the car and carryhorizontal hinge pins 22.V U-shaped hinge parts 23 are secured to theside of the car as, for example, to the beam I2 as shown in Figure 1 andare formed with vertically elongated slots 24 into which the ends of thepins 22 extend. With this construction the rack may move verticallywithout interference from the hinge and still may be swung to a verticalposition for conventional cleaning of the car oor.

Figures 4 and 5 illustrate an alternative structure which issubstantially similar to that shown in Figures l to 3 and in which likeparts. are designated by the same referencenumerals. In thisconstruction the sinuous spring I8 of Figures 1 to 3 is replaced byrubber blocks or strips 25 which lie on top of the supporting block I3and engage the lower surface of the channel web. If desired, individualspaced rrubber blocks 25 may be employed 01 the blocks may be formedwith openings therethrough, as shown at 26, to provide for flow of therubber. This construction operates in substantially the same manner asthat of Figures 1 to 3 except that the vertical loads are absorbed byresiliency of the rubber rather than by ilexing of the spring strip. Itwill be noted that the rubber itself provides a certain inherentsnubbing eiect, and additional snubbing is produced by friction of therubber against the sides of the channel I4 and against the upper surfaceof the supporting block I3 as the rubber distorts during operation.

While two embodiments of the invention have been shown and described indetail herein, it

wil1 be understood that they are illustrative only and are not intendedas a denition of the scope of the invention, reference being had forthis purpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A floor rack for railway cars and the like comprising a plurality ofstringers and slats supported on and connecting the stringers, each ofthe stringers comprising an elongated supporting block coextensive inlength with the floor rack to rest on the floor of the car, an invertedchannel shaped supporting strip coextensive with and iitting slidablyover the block, means connecting the strip and block for limitedvertical movement, and resilient means connecting the strip and block tourge the strip upward relative to the block.

2. A floor rack for railway cars and the like comprising a plurality ofstringers and slats supported on and connecting the stringers, each ofthe stringers comprising an elongated supporting block coextensrve inlength with the oor rack to rest on the floor of the car, an invertedchannel shaped supporting strip coextensive with and fitting slidablyover the block, means connecting the strip and block for limitedvertical movement, and spring means within the channel shaped stripengaging the top of the block to urge the strip upward relative to theblock.

3. A floor rack for railway cars and the like comprising a plurality ofstringers and slats supported on and connecting the stringersi, each ofthe stringers comprising an elongated supporting block coextensive inlength with the floor rack to rest on the oor of the car, an invertedchannel shaped supporting strip coextensive with and tting slidably overthe block, means connecting the strip and block for limited verticalmovement, and an elongated sinous spring stri-p within the channelshaped supporting strip resting on the block to urge the supportingstrip upward relative to the block.

4. A floor rack for railway cars and the like comprising a plurality ofstringers and slats supported on and connecting the stringers, each ofthe s-tringers comprising an elongated supporting block coextensive inlength with the floor rack to rest on the floor of the car, an invertedchannel shaped supporting strip coextensive with and tting slidably overthe block, means connecting the strip and block for limited verticalmovement, and a resilient block of rubber-like material within thechannel shaped supporting strip and resting on the block to urge thesupl porting strip upward relative to the block.

ARTHUR F. OCONNOR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the,

file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

